30.10.17

FG to destroy civil war bombs, compensate victims with N88billion

The federal government on Monday agreed to spend N88bn to completely
destroy leftover landmines and bombs used during the Nigerian Civil War.
The budget would also include compensation for victims, and
reconstruction of public buildings in some parts of the states affected
by the war.
It earmarked N50bn of the budget for compensation of the victims, and
the remainder N38bn of the budget for the ammunition destruction,
rehabilitation of public buildingss affected by the war of 30 months
between 1967 and 1970.
The structure rehabilitation would be mainly in the South-East zone, and some parts of the South-South and North Central zones.
Prior to this decision, the government said it had got a data of 493
victims of the war for the compensation although the criteria for the
enumeration that gave rise to the number is not known.
The affected states are the five states in the South-East zone – Imo,
Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu; four states in South-South –
Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Cross River; and one North Central state –
Benue.
This agreement was part of the resolution reached by the federal
government and other parties to a suit filed on behalf of the victims
and adopted on Monday by the Community Court of the Economic Community
of West African States in Abuja as its judgment.
The suit filed by 20 plaintiffs led by Vincent Agu on behalf of other
victims and their communities was marked ECW/CCJ/APP/06/2012. The suit
is one of the three suits filed by the victims.
The six respondents to the suit which agreed to the consent judgment
included the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the two companies
contracted by the federal government in 2009 to de-mine the affected
areas – RSB Holdings Nigeria Limited and Deminers Concept Nigeria
Limited.
Parties to the suit also agreed that the terms of settlement shall
operate as “full and final settlement of all claims” arising from the
suit.
The federal government is to pay the total N88bn within 45 days from
Monday. The schedule to the judgment disclosed that the plaintiffs would
be the beneficiaries of the N50bn compensation while the the two
companies engaged for the destruction of the land mines would be the
beneficiaries of the N38bn.